Magic, Pirates, and The Woods

Chapter 5: Visitor

It took five days before finally crossing through the Skaoi mountains. The weather had proved to be much more favorable than Fin had anticipated, and they had made much better time than had been calculated.

Stuck below in the ship’s hull, crew members lounged about. Some read while others drink the days away. The nice thing about being on a magic ship was that, besides the captain, there wasn't much to do. Once they were in the air it wasn't as if they would be encountering any enemies. So far, besides a few run-ins with sea monsters when coming into port, no battles have been had. The cannons were mostly for show, and used for grunt work when new soldiers were assigned to the crew. They were always ordered to polish the massive weapons, some sort of hazing that everyone participated in.

Walking down the long corridor, Kalista searched for an empty seat next to a porthole. When she finally found one, she settled in and pulled out a small leather-bound book. Looking out the window she noticed that the speed had slowed, and the ship seemed considerably lower. So much so that she could see the cerulean blue of the sea off in the horizon. She pulled out a small piece of charcoal and started to sketch the current view. However, as soon as she began, loud footsteps could be heard hastily approaching towards her.

An out of breath soldier approached Kalista’s spot, others were already turning to see what the commotion was.

"Lady Kalista, the Captain requires your presence on deck."

She raised a brow in question at the soldier’s statement. "That's unusual, are we planning to touch down?" she asked with curiosity.

"No Ma'am, looks as though we have come in contact with the church leader of the Holy Branch." Before the soldier could finish his explanation Kalista had shot up from her seat and was already rushing toward the stairs that lead to the upper deck. "Have my things brought back to our quarters!" she yelled back at the messenger and continued upstairs to search for her husband.

Once on deck, she looked towards his normal perch on the quarterdeck. There he stood, map in hand, speaking to Cecile, Bren, and Morrow. These were considered his inner circle whom he confided in. She continued her swift movements toward them. As she crossed the deck, she could feel the ship’s trees reacting to her presence and small vines seemed to grab onto her as she walked. The reaction created a stable footing but seemed almost unnecessary as they had come to a stop.

She approached Fin and the others hastily and he turned, now noticing her presence. Holding out his hand, he helped her up to the platform where the four of them met. He gave her a quick nod and announced.

"It seems as the Dolmiatas has made contact and we are to intercept paths momentarily. They are requesting a quick briefing to update us on their new orders from the Elders."

"Doesn't that seem odd though? We are normally tasked with land exploration and military intel while the Dolmiatas is delegated to all matters regarding religion." Kalista questioned. All eyes seemed to stare at her in surprise at her sudden outburst. These were soldiers, they followed orders, they would never dare question their captain.

Fin's face held a pensive expression as he thought about how best to answer her objection.

"While that is true... You know that it is better to remain passive than show resistance to orders that could be coming directly from the Elders." The others nodded in aggreeance to Fins’ answer. "Know that we must appear as a united front," he said as he made eye contact with each subordinate. "Therefore, I will be the only one to ask, or answer questions." He declared while staring at Kalista with his final words.